2014 Tour of California, Stage 8

Bradley Wiggins Wins the 2014 Tour of California

Fellow Briton Mark Cavendish takes the Stage 8 sprint

Joe Lindsey

(Photo by Bradley Wiggins took his lead on the Stage 2 time trial and defended on the two climbing stages.)

On a hilly circuit not ideally suited for his talents, Mark Cavendish fought hard to get back to the front of the race and made good on his work, winning the eighth and final stage of the 2014 Amgen Tour of California. Overall leader Bradley Wiggins (Sky) preserved his lead with relative ease and takes home the title with a 30-second advantage over Garmin-Sharp’s Rohan Dennis.

For Cavendish, it was some sweet reward after suffering through heat and climbs the past week. “I wasn’t anticipating a sprint today,” said Cavendish. “I wasn’t even going to start.” But he did and, even when he had to chase back on, alone, on the second climb, he was actually feeling good. “I had good power and I was passing a lot of guys,” he said of the chase to get back on. “Well, I’ll give it a shot.”

For his effort, the Omega Pharma–Quick-Step rider took his second stage win of the race, after winning the first road stage in Sacramento. In the process, he shut out Giant-Shimano’s John Degenkolb a second time.

The final stage of the Tour of California played out on hilly terrain in Westlake Village. The early (8:30 local time) start saw riders tackle three tough laps of a 20.4-mile circuit that took in a local SoCal favorite ascent, the Rock Store climb.

The pace was high from the start, as a seven-rider move pulled clear on the first pass over the Rock Store. The descent created some unwelcome excitement as George Bennett (Cannondale) and Larry Warbasse (BMC) crashed on the tricky drop back to Westlake Village. Bennett remounted but spent most of the rest of the race chasing alone and crossed the line almost two minutes down, dropping two spots to 16th overall.

Up ahead, Cannondale pushed the pace, hoping for a repeat of the successful tactics from Stage 7, where Peter Sagan stayed in the main group while many of the other sprinters didn’t, in the process neutralizing the early break.

But with three short finishing laps on a flat 4.6-mile circuit, it was not to be. A late break got away and had 20 seconds entering the final circuit, but was absorbed with 5km to go.

As Cannondale, BMC, Omega Pharma, and Giant-Shimano all vied to set up their sprinters, it was Cavendish who again got the best of Degenkolb in a photo finish on the line. Sagan was third and maintained his lead in the points competition, while Giant-Shimano’s Lawson Craddock rode safely to stay in third overall and take the best young rider title for a second year.

What It MeansCavendish found climbing legs he himself didn’t expect he had. With four stage wins at the Tour of Turkey in late April and now two here, he’s clearly building excellent form for his big goal, the Leeds, England start of the Tour de France.

Wiggins is also on excellent form, as he was never in true difficulty during the eight-day race, a fact helped by his team performing better as the race went on. Wiggins’ next goal is to make Sky’s Tour de France team.

He reiterated his position since the beginning of the season: that his job will be to help Chris Froome defend his title, but has been careful to note that Sky is a very deep team and making the roster is not assured.

American Joe Dombrowski Works for Wiggins

Tour of California Beers: Smog City Groundwork Coffee Porter
It's been a hard, hot eight-day race. So much so that anyone just following the Tour of California could probably use a little pick-me-up in their post-race celebration. Thankfully, Los Angeles's Smog City Brewing makes the award-winning (gold medal at the 2012 Great American Beer Fest) Groundwork Coffee Porter. The Torrence-based brewers age a rich, dark porter—a style not quite as roasty as a stout—on organic, fair-trade beans roasted nearby at Groundwork Coffee. The resulting 6% ABV ale showcases the smooth, java flavors of cold-brewed coffee with cocoa- and caramel-like barley. Smog City aptly describes the porter as "a chocolate covered espresso bean."